Elevator



2 l 4 i D WU@ wirwy EXAMINER Aug. 16, 1949. c. A. DANA ET AL 2,479,321

ELEvAToa wFiled Jan. 5, 194e e sheets-sheet 2 Aug. 16, 1949. c. A. DANA ETAL. 2,479,321

ELEvAToR Filed Jan. 5, 1946 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 I: p t

WITNESSES:

ATTQ EY Aug. 16, 1949. c. A. DANA ET AL 2.479,321

- ELEvA'roR Filed Jan. 5, 1946 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 WITNESSESZ INVENTORS Caf/eJ/ana and ATT NEY ug, 16, 1949. c. A. DANA ETAL. 2,479,321

ELEVATOR Filed Jan. 5, 1946 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 H H '96 S\\\\\ \\\\\\Xi (9,9 '97 9069205 WITNESSES; INVENToRs ATT NEY Patented ug. 16, 1949 ELEVATOR Charles A. Dana, Plainfield, and William H. Leitz, Westfield, N. J., asslgnors to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January 5, 1946, Serial No. 639,274

(ci. isi- 6) 11 Claims.

Our invention relates to deck-edge elevators and, more particularly, to means for folding and stowing the platforms of such elevators.

lWhere deck-edge elevators are used on airplane carrier ships for transferring airplanes from one deck to another, they are mounted on the outer side of the ship in alignment with an opening therein to the main deck, and are movable up and down on the side of the ship, to serve the main decks and the flight decks. A deck-edge elevator of this type is very large and extends outwardly from the ship hull to such an extent as to prevent the ship on which it is mounted from going through narrow openings.

One object of our invention is to provide a deckedge elevator in which the platform may be easily folded and stowed in such position as to occupy a small amount of room on the side of the ship.

Another object is to provide for folding a deckedge elevator platform against the side of a ship, without requiring the use of additional Winches, cables, and cable sheaves.

It is also an object of our invention to provide a deck-edge elevator with a foldable platform which may be relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture, install, operate, and maintain in operation.

For a better understanding of our invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of our improved deckedge elevator on a ship with its removable stowing struts disposed in position for a stowing operation with part of the upper deck of the ship being cut away to disclose the operating mechanism for the elevator;

Fig. 2 is a view in aft end elevation of the elevator shown in Fig. 1, in its uppermost position and in condition for a folding operation;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with the elevator platform in a partially folded position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with the platform folded and in its stowed position on the side of the ship;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view from the interior of the ship of the truss which serves as a base for supporting the elevator platform, with central portions of the truss broken away.

Fig. 6 is a view in end elevation of the truss shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged view of one end of the truss shown in Fig. 5 and the latching mechanism thereon for limiting the downward movement of the truss and platform when the elevator is stowed on the side of the ship;

Fig. 8 is a view in front elevation of the latching mechanism shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a view in side elevation of one of the locking pins in the flight deck for locking the elevator platform in its stowed position;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged view, of the aft stowing struts as they appear from the flight deck when mounted thereon for a stowing operation,

Fig. 11 is a view in aft side elevation of the stowing struts shown in Fig. 10; and

Fig. 12 is an enlarged view of one of the hinge joints connecting the platform and the base taken on the line XII- XII of Fig. '7.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, we have illustrated a deck edge elevator comprising a truss or base section III provided with a platform section II disposed between a pair of guide rails I2 and I3 mounted on the outer side of a ship hull I4 for serving its main deck I5 and its iiight deck I6. A plurality of rollers I1 are rotatably mounted on each end of the base section I0 in position to ride in vertical guiding slots I8 and Ia in the sides of the guide rails facing each other for guiding the vertical movement of the elevator as it is raised or lowered and for maintaining the base section in its desired angular relation to the hull of the ship.

A plurality of hoisting cables I9 and 20, operated by a hydraulic hoisting engine 2|, are provided for supporting the elevator platform and base and for raising and lowering them. The hydraulic engine comprises a single cylinder 22 mounted in a horizontal position on a frame or engine bed 23 and a power plunger 24 disposed in the cylinder. The outer end of the plunger is provided with a power head 25 in which a pair of power sheaves 26 are rotatably mounted.

In operation, the plunger moves back and forth horizontally and thus moves the power sheaves 26 back and forth with it, for operating the hoisting cables to raise and lower the elevator. The plunger is designed for operation by'a suitable hydraulic medium such as oil, placed under'pressure by any suitable equipment (not shown) and is controlled by a valveFZ'l operated by a valve motor 21a through a gear box 21h. A hand operative device 21e is provided for controlling the valve 21 by hand when it is desired to use hand control instead -of motor control for the engine.

The hand drive box is so arranged that opening its cover for operation disconnects the motor and mechanically connects the hand drive gears for operating the valve. When the hand box is closed, the hand wheel is disengaged and the motor is again electrically connected for operation. If further information is desired about the details and mode of operation of the hydraulic engine, it may be secured from the James Dunlop application, Serial No. 515,992, led December 28; 1943, now Patent Number 2,409,198 issued October 15, 1946.

The outer ends of the cables I9 are secured to the aft end of the base section by suitable hitches 28 mounted thereon and pass upwardly and over an idler sheave 29 fastened to the ship structure underneath the overhanging portion of the flight deck, thence inwardly over a second idler sheave 30 mounted on the ship frame inside the hull, thence downwardly and under a deflector sheave 3I mounted on the engine bed 23, thence around a stationary sheave 32 mounted on the engine bed at the rear of the engine, and thence around one of the power sheaves 26 to a plurality of hitches mounted on the under side of the engine cylinder but not shown in the drawings.

The `outer ends of the cables 28 are secured to the fore end of the base section by a suitable cable hitch means 34 and pass upwardly over an idler sheave 35 fastened to the ship structure underneath the overhanging portion of the ight deck, thence inwardly over a second idler sheave 36 mounted on the ship frame inside the hull, thence downwardly and under a deector sheave 31 mounted on the right hand end of the engine bed, and thence under and over one of the power sheaves 26 in the plunger head to suitable hitches 38 secured to the upper rear part of the engine cylinder.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the base member In comprises a top chord truss member 4I), a bottom chord truss member 4I and a front truss member 42 disposed substantially parallel to each other and braced apart by a plurality of truss members 43, 44 and 45 and a plurality of angularly disposed truss members such as 46 and 41. A plurality of inner bracing truss members such as 48 to 60 are applied to the truss structure for increasing its strength and stability. The truss members and bracing truss members are constructed of high tensile steel tubing, structural steel and steel plate welded together in bridgelike construction to form a relatively light but strong base for supporting the elevator platform I I and any load which may be placed thereon. In this construction, the intermediate portion of the top chord truss member serves as a hinge pin for connecting the platform and base sections and its outer ends serve as anchor blocks for the upper end rollers I1.

The platform section II is constructed of high tensile steel tubing, structural steel and steel Vplate welded together in bridgelike construction to form a relatively light but strong frame upon which any suitable flooring 6I may be laid.

Normally, the platform I I remains in its horizontal position on the side of the ship during practically all of the activities .of the ship. At times, however, it is necessary for the ship to pass through very narrow waterways o`- the locks of canals which are too narrow to admit the ship with the elevator platform riding thereon in its normal horizontal position. This will be understood when it 1s realized that some deck-edge elevator platforms extend outwardly from the ship for a distance .of 30 feet or more.

Therefore, in order to permit stowing of the elevator so that the ship may pass through narrow places, we have mounted the platform section on the base section by a pair .of hinge joints 62 and 63 disposed on the hinge pin sections of the top chord truss member 48 and have provided a plurality of removable stowing struts 68 and 69 for pivotally connecting the platform to the ilight deck in such manner that lowering the base section to stowing position will Stow the platform in a substantially vertical position against the ship. Suitable removable plates 62a (Figs. 1 and 2) may be provided as covers for the hinges 62 and 63 when the elevator is in normal operation. Removal of these plates provides greater clearance for parts adjacent the platform section and reduces the spacings required for such parts.

As illustrated particularly in Figs. 7 and 12, the hinged joint 62 comprises a hinge pin 64 mounted in the truss member 40 in position to be engaged by a recess member 65 constituting a part of the platform structure and a holding block 56 secured to tbe underside of the member 'e5 by p-'Iurz-ility of bolts 61 in order to constitute a journal bearing. The hinged joint 63 is constructed in the same manner as the hinge joint 62 so that both joints may cooperate to provide a means whereby the outer end of the platform section may swing upwardly in a hinged action when the elevator is being stowed on the side of the ship.

In order to cushion the end thrust of the base section against the guide rails I2 and I3, an end roller 10 is disposed on the aft end of the base structure and an end roller 1I is disposed on the fore end of the base structure in position to bear against the inner faces .of the guide rails. The end roller 10 is rotatably mounted in a bearing 12, the inner cylindrical end of which extends into and is slidably supported by a frame 13 mounted upon the vertical truss members 43 and 44. A spring 14 is disposed in the frame 13 in position to bias the roller 10 outwardly against the inner face of the guide rail I2 so as to provide a thrust bearing for the elevator which will prevent it from hammering against the guide rails. The end roller 1| is mounted in a similar manner on the vertical trusses 45 at the opposite end of the base member I8.

A bumper 16 is mounted on the end roller frame 13 below the roller 10 and a `bumper 11 is mounted 0n the end roller frame 13a below the roller 1I for limiting the endwise movements of the elevator to a predetermined value. The play allowed between the end bumpers 15 and 11 and the inner faces of the guide rails I2 and I3 should be very small and the pressure of the springs 'is on the end rollers 10 and 1| should be so adjusted that they will cushion even this small movement very strongly.

As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the stowing strut 68 is pivotally attached to the aft end of the elevator platform section II by a strut hitch 80. When the stowing strut 68 is not in use, the stowing hitch lies beneath the platform II and is covered by a removable plate (not shown) Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate the stowing strut 68 in greater detail :by which it may be seen that the upper end of the strut is hingedly attached by a strut hinge pin 82 to the upper ends of a pair of vertical stanchions 83 and a pair of rearrwardly extending stanchions 84 and 85. The pin 82 extends through a pair of cast heads 86 and 81 mounted on and welded to the upper ends of the vertical stanchions. A side stanchion 38 is provided for :bracing the pin 82 and the upper ends of the vertical and rear stanchions.

The lower ends of the vertical stanchions 83 are fastened to metal plates 89. Each of these plates is provided with a block on its underside disposed to be seated ina recess SI in the liight deck. The plates 89 are provided with removable bolts 92 so that they may readily be boltedto the flight deck when a stowing action is to be made, and may be removed when no stowing action is to be made. 'Ihe lower ends of the rear stanchions 84 and 85 are fastened to metal plates 94 and 95, which may be readily bolted to the flight deck by means of a plurality of bolts 96. Suitable bosses 91 and 98 are disposed on the undersides of the plates 94 and 95 in position to rest in recesses 99 and I 00 when the stanchions are in use in a stowing operation.

The lower end of the side ybrace stanchion 88 is provided with a metal plate IOI which may :be readily bolted to the night deck -by a plurality of bolts |02. The stowing strut 68 and the rear stanchions 84 and 85 are provided with suitable adjusting segments |03, |04 and |05 by which they may be adjusted to the correct length for stowing operations.

The stowing strut 69 is connected to the fore end of the elevator by a stowing hitch |06 and ,is mounted on vertical stanchions, rear stanchions and a side stanchion in the same manner as the strut 68 is connected to the aft portion of the elevator and flight deck.

When the stowing struts and stanchions are not in use for stowing the elevator, they are removed frorn the ight deck and elevator and placed in suitable storage space on the ship.

In making a stowing operation, the base section is lowered to a stowing position. In order to prevent the .base I0 from moving below its stowed position in a stowing operation, the guide rail I2 is provided with a stowing step |01 disposed to receive a stowing pawl |08 (Fig. 7) which is pivotally mounted on the aft end of the base I0. The pawl |08 is provided with an operating arm |09 and is plvotally mounted by a pin I'IEl in a split projection I I I on the underside of the frame 13 which supports the end roller 10 and the Ibumper 16.

A similar stowing pawl II2, provided with an operating arm ||3 (Fig. 5), is mounted on the end roller frame 13a on the fore end of the base section for engaging a stowing step in the guide rail I3 when a stowing operation is to be made. Any suitable pins or bolts (not shown) may be used for fastening the outer ends of the pawl arms |09 and I'I3 to the frame work of the base section to keep the pawls in non-operative position during normal operation of the elevator and for releasing the pawls to operative position when a stowing operation is to be made. The

weight of the pawl operating arms |09 and H3 should be made suiiicient to bias the pawls |08 and ||2 to their outer position for engaging the stowing steps when a stowing operation is to be made.

A stowing bar I|4 is fixed on the aft end of the platform section (Fig. l) in position to enter a stopping slot I I5, formed .by structural steel parts IIS, II'l and ||8 (Fig. 9) disposed on the ship structure underneath the overhanging portion of the flight deck, when the platform reaches its full stowed position. A locking pin I|9 is mounted in the flight deck in position to be lowered into holes in the structural steel parts H6 and I'I1 behind the stowing bar v||4 when the platform is in its stowed position and thereby lock the platform in such position. The locking pin is provided with a handle at its upper end by means of which it can be raised and lowered in locking the platform in its stowed position. A

' slowly lower the elevator.

similar stowing bar |20 and locking pin I 2| are provided at the fore end of the platform.

Suitable alignment blocks |22 are mounted on the front truss member 42 of the lbase section in position to be engaged `by cooperating alignment blocks |23 mounted on the lower edge of the platform section to insure the proper alignment of the platform section with the base section when the platform section is returned from its stowing position to its normal horizontal position for elevator operation. A plurality of suitable bolts (not shown) may be used for bolting the alignment blocks together to hold the platform section firmly on the base section while the elevator is in normal operation.

The invention may be better understood by an assumed operation of the apparatus described.

In preparing to place the elevator in its stowed position, it is moved to the main deck and the attendants take the stowing struts and stanchions from their storage space and load them on the elevator platform. They then move the elevator, by means of the hand control, to a position where the usual cat walks (not shown) are accessible from the main deck and then remove the bolts from the fore and aft alignment blocks |22 and |23 to free the platform section for its stowing movement. The pins or bolts (not shown) for holding the stowing pawls |08 and l I2 in nonoperation position are released and the pawls are checked to determine if they are free to rotate and are biased toward the guide rails I2 and I3.

The hand control 21c is now operated to move the elevator upwardly to a position where it is level with the flight deck, and the plates are removed to uncover the strut hitches and |06 and the platform hinges 62 and 63.

The attendants now erect and securely bolt the stowing stanchions 83, 84, and 88 for the strut 68 and the similar stanchions for the strut 89 on the flight deck at the fore and aft ends of the elevator platform. Next, the inboard ends of the stowing struts B8 and 69 are placed in the upper ends of the stowing stanchions and fastened therein by the stowing strut hinge pins 82 and 82a.. After the inboard ends of the stowing struts are fastened into place, their outboard ends are fastened to the stowing hitches 80 and |08. The elevator is now ready to be stowed against the side of the ship.

After the engine room is checked to determine that the control is ready for the stowing operation, the hand control wheel 21e is operated to This causes the base section I0 to descend, thereby causing the inner edge of the platform section to move downwardly and its outer edge to swing upwardly and inwardly on the hinged joints 62 and 63, as indicated in Fig. 3. The hand control wheel is operated slowly to continue the lowering of the base section I0 until the stowing pawls |08 and ||2 move downwardly and into the stowing steps |01 in the guide rails I2 and I3. During this downward movement of the base section, the platform section tilts inwardly toward its approximately vertical position. As the base moves down to its full stowing position, the pawls |08 and I|2 enter the stowing steps |01 and cause substantially all the weight of the platform to rest upon the stowing steps. At this point, the platform section II has swung upwardly and inwardly until the stowing bars ||4 and |20 have entered the locking slots II5. The elevator is now in its stowed position with its hinged platform section .tion in its stowed position.

At this point, the stowing pawls |00 and |I2 should be checked for their position in the stowing steps |01, to make sure that they are in proper position to withstand the strain of supporting the elevator in its stowed position. The elevator is now stowed against the side of the ship and locked in its stowed position.

When it is desired to release the elevator from its stowed position and return it to its normal position for serving the main deck and the flight deck, the attendants remove the locking pins ||9 and |2I from the locking slots ||5 and then operate the hand control to raise the elevator, and thereby cause the base section |0 to rise above its stowed position. As the base section rises, the unlocked platform section swings outwardly and downwardly, and this movement continues until it is level with the flight deck. Next, the attendants replace the locking pins I I9 and |2| in the locking slots I I 5, and disengage the outboard ends of the stowing struts 68 and 69 from the stowing hitches 80 and |06. The attendants then remove the stowing strut hinge pins 82 and 82a from the heads of the stowing stanchions and place the stowing struts on the elevator platform. Next, the attendants remove the stowing stanchions by unbolting them from the flight deck and place them on the elevator platform. Next, the hinge covers 62a and the stowing hitch covers are replaced on the platform section.

The elevator is now lowered slowly by operating the hand control until the cat walks (not shown) are accessible from the main deck. The bolts are now replaced in the alignment blocks |22 and |23 to secure the platform and base in a unitary structure. The stowing pawls |08 and ||2 are also moved to their retired position and fastened therein by means of pawl pins (not shown). The elevator may now be lowered to the main deck and the stowing struts and stanchions be returned to their usual storage space.

By the foregoing operation, it will be seen that we have provided a deck-edge elevator which may be easily stored against the side of a ship, where it may be securely locked and held while the ship is moving through narrow places such as canal locks.

Although we have illustrated and described only one specific embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that many modifications thereof and changes therein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. A deck-edge elevator for serving an upper deck and a lower deck on a ship comprising, a pair of guide rails vertically disposed on the side of the ship, an elevator base section slidably disposed between the guide rails, a plurality of hoisting cables for operating the base section, a platform section hingedly mounted on the base section, means for pivotally connecting the platform section to the upper deck, means for lowering the base section after the platform section is pivotally connected to the upper deck to thereby cause the platform section to tilt into stowed position, and means for limiting the down movement 8 of the base section in stowing the elevator to a predetermined point.

2. A deck-edge elevator for serving an upper deck and a lower deck on a ship comprising, a pair of guide rails vertically disposed on the side of the ship, an elevator base section slidably disposed between the guide rails, a plurality of hoisting cables for the base section, an engine for operating the cables to raise and lower the base section, a platform section having its inner portion hingedly mounted on the base section, removable means for pivotally connecting the outer portion of the platform section to the upper deck, means for controlling the engine to lower the base section after the platform section is pivotally connected to the upper deck to thereby cause the platform section to tilt into its stowed position, and means mounted on the guide rails and the base section for limiting the down movement of the base section during stowing operation to a predetermined point.

3. A deck-edge elevator for serving an upper deck and a. lower deck on a ship comprising, a pair of guide rails vertically disposed on the side of the ship, an elevator base section disposed between the guide rails, a plurality of hoisting cables for the base section, an engine for operating the cables to raise and lower the base section, a platform section hingedly mounted on the base section and disposed to rest thereon in substantially struts, means for pivotally connecting the stowing struts to the upper ends of the stanchions and tothe platform section when the elevator is at the upper deck, a controller for causing the engine to lower the base section after the platform section is pivotally connected to the upper deck to thereby cause the platform section to tilt into its stowed position, and a plurality of stowing steps and stowing pawls cooperatively disposed on the base section and the guide rails for limiting the down movement of the base section and the platform section to a predetermined point.

4. A deck-edge elevator for serving an upper deck and a lower deck on a ship comprising, a pair of guide rails disposed on the side of the ship, an elevator base section slidably disposed between the guide rails, said base section having an outwardly extended portion, a plurality of hoisting cables for the base section, an engine for operating the cables to raise and lower the base section, a platform section hingedly mounted on the base section and having a bottom portion disposed to rest on the extended portion of the base section when the elevator is in condition for normal operation, a plurality of stowing struts, for pivotally connecting the outer portion of the platform section to the upper deck, means for controlling the engine to lower the base section after -the platform section is pivotally connected to the upper deck to thereby cause the platform section to tilt into its stowed position, a plurality of Stowing steps and stowing pawls cooperatively disposed on the base section and the guide rails for limiting the down movement of the base section to a predetermined point when it is being stowed, means for locking the platform section in its stowed position.

5. A deck-edge elevator for serving an upper deck and a lower deck on a ship comprising, a pair of guide rails vertically disposed on the side of the ship, an elevator base section slidably disposed .extending bottom portion disposed to rest on the downwardly sloping portion of the base section when the elevator is in condition for normal operation, a plurality of stowing struts, for pivotally connecting the platform section to the upper deck, means for controlling the engine to lower the base section after the platform sectiony is pivotally connected to the upper deck to thereby cause the platform section to tilt into its stowed position, a plurality of stowing steps disposed on the guide rails, a plurality of stowing pawls pivotally mountefq on the base section for engaging the stowing steps and thereby support the base section and platform Section, and means for locking the platform section in its stowed position.

6. A deck-edge elevator for serving an upper deck and a lower deck on a ship comprising, a pair of guide rails vertically disposed on the side of the ship, an elevator base section disposed between the guide rails, said base section having a rear vertical portion and an outwardly down sloping portion, a plurality of rollers disposed on the ends of the vertical portion of the base section for engaging the guide rails to maintain said vertical portion in vertical alignment with the guide rails and to facilitate movement of the base section thereon, a plurality of hoisting cables for the base section, an engine for operating the cables to raise and lower the base section, a platform section having its inner edge hingedly mounted on the base section and having an outwardly and downwardly extending bottom portion disposed to rest on the downwardly sloping portion of the base section when the elevator is in condition for normal operation, a plurality of stowing struts, for pivotally connecting the platform section to the upper deck, means for controlling the engine to lower the base section after the platform section is pivotally connected to the upper deck to thereby cause the platform section to tilt into its stowed position, a plurality of stowing steps disposed on the guide rails, a plurality of stowing pawls pivotally mounted on the base section for engaging the stowing steps and thereby support the base section and platform section, and means for locking the platform section in its stowed position.

7. A deck-edge elevator for serving an upper deck and a lower deck on a ship comprising, a pair of guide rails vertically disposed on the side of the ship, an elevator base section disposed between the guide rails, said base section having a rear vertical portion and an outwardly down sloping portion, a plurality of rollers disposed on the ends of the vertical portion of the base section for engaging the guide rails to maintain said vertical portion in vertical alignment with the guide rails and to facilitate movement of the base section thereon, a plurality of hoisting cables for the base section, an engine for operating the cables to raise and lower the base section, a platform section having its inner edge hingedly mounted on the base section and having an outwardly and downwardly extending bottom portion disposed to rest on the downwardly sloping portion of the base section when the elevator is in condition for normal operation, a plurality of 10 stanchions, means for removably mounting the stanchions on the upper deck, a plurality of stowing struts, means for pivotally connecting the stowing struts to the upper ends of the stanchions and to the platform section when the elevator is at the upper deck, a controller for causing the engine to lower the base section after the platform section is pivotally connected to the upper deck to thereby cause the platform section to tilt into its stowed position, a plurality of stowing steps disposed on the inner faces of the guide rails, and a plurality of stowing pawls pivotally mounted on the base section for engaging the stowing steps and thereby support the base section and platform section.

8. A deck-edge elevator for serving an upper deck end a lower deck on a ship comprising, a pair of guide rails vertically disposed on the side of the ship, an elevator base section disposed between the guide rails, said base section having a rear vertical portion and an outwardly down sloping portion, a plurality of rollers disposed on the ends of the vertical portion of the base section for engaging the guide rails to maintain said vertical portion in vertical alignment with the guide rails and to facilitate movement of the base section thereon. a plurality of hoisting cables for the base section, an engine for operating the cables to raise and lower the base section, a platform section having its inner edge hingedly mounted on the base section and having an outwardly and downwardly extending bottom portion disposed to rest on the downwardly sloping portion of the base section when the elevator is in condition for normal operation, a plurality of substantially vertical stanchions, a plurality of rear stanchions, a plurality of bracing stanchions, means for removably mounting the stanchions on the upper deck, a plurality of stowing struts, means for pivotally connecting the inner ends of the stowing struts to the upper ends of the stanchions, a plurality of stowing hitches mounted on the platform vsection for pivotally attaching the outer ends of the struts thereto to pivotally connect it to the upper deck. a controller for causing the engine to lower the base section after the platform section is pivotally connected to the upper deck for tilting the platform section into its stowed position, a plurality of stowing steps disposed on the inner faces of the guide rails, a plurality of stowing pawls pivotally mounted on the base section for engaging the stowing steps and thereby support the base section and platform section in stowed position, and means for locking the platform section in its stowed position.

9. A deck-edge elevator for serving an upper deck and a lower deck on a ship, comprising a pair of guide rails vertically disposed on the side of the ship, a base section slidably disposed be` tween the guide rails, said base section being constructed of steel tubing and structural steel welded together in a triangular bridgelike construction of which the top chord of te truss serves as a hinge pin for a plurality of hinges and the outer ends of which serve as anchor blocks for upper rollers to guide the base section along the guide rails, a plurality of hoisting cables for the base section, an engine for operating the cables to raise and lower the base section, a platform section having its inner edge hingedly mounted on the hinge pin portion of the base section and disposed substantially in a horizontal position on the base section when the elevator is in condition for normal operation, removable means for pivotally connecting the outer portion of the platform section to the upper deck when the elevator is at the upper deck, a controller for causing the engine to iower the base section after the platform section is pivotally connected to the upper deck to thereby cause the platform section to tilt into its stowed position, and means for limiting the down movement of the base section to a predetermined point when it is being stowed.

10. In an elevator installation, a structure having two spaced stations to be served by an elevator, an elevator having a base section and a platform section hingedly mounted on the base section, motive means for moving said base section between said spaced stations in a predetermined path substantially transverse to the axis of the hinge between the sections and pivoting means eiective when in operative condition for pivotally connecting the platform section to the structure, said motive means being operable after the platform section is pivotally connected to the structure to move the base section in said predetermined path in a direction such that the pivoting means tilts the platform section about the base section into a stowing position.

11. An elevator installation as dened in claim 10, wherein said pivoting means comprises a link having its ends pivotally connected respectively to the structure and to the platform section at a point spaced from the axis of that hinge between the sections, said pivoting means having separable parts for interrupting the connection of the structure and the platform section therethrough.

CHARLES A. DANA. WILLIAM H. LEITZ.

No references cited. 

